Senior R&D Scientist

What we are looking for in a Senior R&D Scientist

We’re in search of someone who enjoys the autonomy offered by a dynamic small startup environment and takes initiative to find new learning opportunities. This person should be highly organized and detail oriented, have a passion for learning new skills and processes, and be able to work collaboratively with others. We highly value a positive team culture and are looking for someone who wants to be part of continuously enhancing this culture – ideally playing an active role in this as the company grows.

The Senior Scientist leads efforts related to material and process formulation changes, supporting manufacturing scaleup as well as modifying material properties to improve performance in applications. In addition to conducting lab scale trials, this role also involves test method development to support quantitative decision making that will inform process controls at the commercial production scale.

The ideal candidate will be familiar with chemistry, materials science & engineering, and structure-function relationships and be ready to get hands‑on with our ground‑breaking material. We seek a dynamic researcher to lead exploration of our chemical formulations as we translate material and process developments to industrial scale production. Working together with our team, this role will help to optimize our material, create scalable and economic production, and develop a safe and sustainable product.

The Senior Scientist is highly organized, has experience with lean project management practices, and is excellent y evaluate potential material and process changes for long‑term benefits that match Aero Shield’s larger goals. They can develop efficient and targeted design of experiments to quickly understand the potential of material and process changes, and can provide guidance on the proper tools to evaluate said changes.

They embody Aero Shield’s values of Understand & Improve, Value People and Persons, and Act Sustainably.

The ideal candidate has experience working in a hands‑on laboratory setting and has an unwavering commitment to safety and data integrity. They thrive in startup environments with shifting tasks and priorities, where the results of their work play an important role in advancing new technologies to the market.

• Design and execute experimental plans to tune properties of our aerogel materials
• Design and execute experimental plans to support pilot scale manufacturing process optimization and troubleshooting
• Identify new technologies or raw materials to explore, design and execute experimental plans to evaluate their performance
• Develop from scratch or refine existing test methods to enable meaningful quantification of material properties and performance, ultimately shaping the incoming, in‑process, and release testing criteria used on the production floor
• Develop new test methods or engage with third party labs to execute testing to support pilot scale troubleshooting
• Take the lead on patent filings produced by Advanced Research team projects
• Mentor other members of the team, particularly in laboratory and documentation best practices
• Support development of processes and systems that will help a manufacturing R&D team run smoothly

This role requires candidates to be on‑site 5 days a week at our facility in Waltham, MA.

• Bachelor’s degree in a tech‑related field
• Ability to pay close attention to detail, focusing on accuracy and quality
• Strong interpersonal skills including the ability to listen, distill information, consult, and suggest new approaches
• Experimental design
• Wet chemistry techniques
• Material characterization
• Data management
• Data interpretation and presentation
• Experience with transition from lab bench to pilot scale industrial processes
• Experience in providing R&D support to industrial manufacturing operations
• Chemical inventory management
• Chemical waste management
  
  Time management
• Microsoft Office

• Organosilane chemistry
• Analytical instrumentation (FTIR, GCMS, UV‑Vis, etc.)

• Quick learner and creativity:
  Ability to learn quickly by leveraging all possible resources
• Highly detail‑oriented and organized
• Works well in teams
• Ability to train and lead others
• High emotional intelligence
• Takes initiative
• Strategic thinking
• Ability to receive constructive feedback
• Passion for Aero Shield values